Paterfamilias
by Lady Dudley
Summary: Michael is a man of principle, but when his career and family collide will he hold onto them?
1. My Daddy Is Going To Kick Your Butt

**A/N: So I thought I'd try something a bit different. Some of the chapters are pretty short but I wanted to make a couple of comments here and there as I went along. Oh, "paterfamilias" is the Roman word for "Head of the household" it sort of works...let's go with it :P  
Hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**_Paterfamilias_**

Dimly through the darkness Jackie could hear a baby crying. She wished it would stop as the sound was only making her headache worse.

The crying continued, sounding louder now as it continued to bring her closer to consciousness. Something about it was familiar, her eyes snapped open.

Ebony.

She felt a brief moment of panic as she found herself surrounded by darkness. Images came back to her: men wielding guns breaking through her front door, the children screaming.

The children.

The thought brought her back to the present and she struggled through the darkness, trying to find Ebony.

She sighed with relief when she finally made it to her, taking her in her arms she began to soothe her, checking her for injuries. As Ebony's cries died down she tried to make out her other children in the darkness.

"Jimmy? Nerys? Katie?" she called, her voice becoming more strained due to the continued silence. Presently three small voices answered her and she soon had all four of her children gathered close to her.

"What's going on, Mummy?" Nerys asked, clinging tightly to Jackie's arm.

"I don't know, baby," Jackie told her.

"Where's Daddy?" Jimmy asked, reverting in his fear to the term of endearment he had abandoned only months before as being to babyish.

"I don't know that either honey, we'll just have to wait and see," Jackie told him.

"Daddy will save us," Katrina piped up and Jackie smiled at the conviction in her tone.

"Of course her will, sweetie," she assured them all, and herself, wondering where Michael was and how on earth he was going to find them.

Her musings were cut short when the door opened.

Blinking in the sudden light, Jackie tried to simultaneously clasp all of her children close to her.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Jardine, children," came a man's voice. "I trust you are comfortable," he continued, a trace of amusement in his voice.

Jimmy broke from Jackie's grasp and stood to his full height in front of his mother and sisters, "What do you want with us?" he demanded, sounding braver than he felt.

"Such bravery," the man commented as he eyed Jimmy, "I would expect nothing less from the son of Michael Jardine."

"How do you know Daddy?" Katrina asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as she sat huddled next to her mother.

The man took a step forward to see passed Jimmy better; Jimmy moved slightly to block them from sight. "Relax, little man, I won't hurt your sisters or your mother," the man assured him. The man looked over Jimmy's shoulder at Katrina, "Your Daddy and I go way back," his eyes met Jackie's, "and I hope for your sake he loves you as much as I think he does." He looked back at Katrina, "Your Daddy owes me and you're here to make sure he complies."

"My Daddy is going to kick your butt," Nerys, who had been hitherto silent, informed him.

The man laughed, "I would like to see him try," he said, he turned back to Jackie, "you have lovely children Mrs. Jardine, I'm sure their Daddy misses them."

Jackie looked up at him from where she had been silently admonishing Nerys, "Whatever it is you want him to do, Michael will only do what is right." She looked at her children, "No matter what the cost," she added quietly.

The man smiled, "Your husband is a man of principle, it's true, but when his wife and children are in danger...?" he left the question hanging in the air.

"What have you done with our dog?" Katrina demanded suddenly.

The man blinked, "Your dog is probably still barking the house down, but to no avail. What good is he to you now?"

----

**A/N: As will hopefully come clear a little bit further on, Jackie has actually sustained a head injury which is why she's not saying much in this confrontation of sorts.**


	2. Never Knew You Had It In You

Nelson was indeed still barking the house down, though starting to sound a little hoarse, when Michael and his team made it to the Jardine residence.

"Shut that dog up will you Fraser," Michael ordered as he surveyed the damage that had been done to his home. The sight of a blood stain on the carpet was not reassuring.

Stuart edged towards the back door; he'd never see the normally placid dog so enraged before. Gingerly he opened the door; only to slam it shut again as he narrowly avoided being savaged.

"Uh, sir?" Stuart began uncertainly, "This might be one for you."

Michael looked up in irritation, but relented when he noted just how un-Nelson-like Nelson was behaving. He was still unable to suppress a long suffering sigh, however, as he made his way to the backdoor.

"Nelson," he began firmly, "Nelson, it's all right, it's me. You can stop barking now," he paused as Nelson began to settle at the familiar voice, "there's nothing you can do now."

Nelson stopped barking all together and looked up at Michael with big brown eyes. Sighing again Michael slipped out the door to further soothe the dog. Patting Nelson on the head Michael realised that the familiar gesture was soothing him as well.

"Michael, we've found something," Robbie's voice broke the moment. Giving Nelson one last pat, Michael re-entered the house.

"Over here," Robbie continued, leading Michael into the kitchen. Stuck on the fridge was note addressed to Michael:

"_Dear Michael,_

_Your wife put up an admirable fight trying to protect your children, though it was quite unnecessary. Your family are all safe, but their continued well being rests with you. I'd say don't involve the police but that seems a trifle...trite. Instead I will say: no tricks. I mean it Michael, you have a charming family it would be such a shame if anything were to happen to them. _

_I will contact you with further instructions,_

_Culpepper"_

Michael swore softly under his breath and glanced at Robbie who was watching him closely. "Well, Inspector, how would you like to proceed?"

Robbie looked confused, "Sir?"

"I'm taking myself off the case before I'm forced off and while I still can choose whom I would like to head the investigation," Michael informed him.

"But-"

Whatever Robbie was going to say was abruptly cut short as Michael grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the fridge. "I'm only going to say this once, Robbie," Michael hissed, "this psycho has my wife and children. I'm counting on you to get them back in one piece; if you don't think you can I want to know _now_ so that I can find someone who can."

"You can count on me," Robbie choked out, "could you put me down now?" he added. Michael loosened his hold on Robbie, lowering him to the floor, before he released him and took a step back.

"Never knew you had it in you," Robbie commented, righting his tie and moving his neck gingerly from side to side.

"You'd be surprised by what I'm capable of when those I love are in danger."

"I don't doubt it," Robbie replied as he followed Michael out of the room.


	3. Say Cheese

"Damn it!" Culpepper spat, slamming the phone down. "The slippery bastard, I should have known he wouldn't head up the investigation himself."

He glanced at one of his subordinates, "Bring the woman to me," he ordered. The man left with a slight bow.

A few minutes later he returned with Jackie in tow, he shoved her roughly into the middle of the room.

"Your husband refuses to head up the investigation himself, this is going to make things difficult," Culpepper informed her. "Perhaps if he were reminded of what's at stake he would be more amenable to my demands."

He gestured to the man who stood behind Jackie who stepped forward, camera in hand. "Say cheese," Culpepper teased, snapping Jackie's photo. "Take some of the children," he ordered, tossing the camera carelessly back to the man, "we may need them later." The man nodded and left the room.

"What do you want with us?" Jackie demanded, eyeing him warily.

"That, my dear, you are about to find out. Here is a list of my demands," he told her, crossing over to his desk and holding up a sheet of paper. "But I think it would mean more coming from you," he told her, holding up a pen.

Reluctantly Jackie sat down at the desk and began to copy out the list.

"And don't try anything cute like sending him a message of your own," he added, "I'd hate for anything to happen to one of your children."

Jackie sucked in a breath and continued to write, ignoring Culpepper's cruel smile.


	4. All Part Of The Service

"Clever, very clever," Michael muttered as he reread the list, "getting Jackie to write the list of demands," he handed the letter over to Robbie, pointedly ignoring the accompanying photograph that was all ready set to haunt him.

Jackie's battered appearance had been enough to upset him, but the suppressed fear in her eyes had almost unmanned him.

"What would you like us to do?" Robbie asked, placing the letter and photo into an evidence bag.

"What can we do? We don't negotiate with criminals," Michael said with a heavy sigh. "Our best bet it to flush him out."

"We're working on it," Robbie assured him, standing up. "We'll get them back Michael," he added, placing a comforting hand on Michael's shoulder.

Michael nodded absently, "Thank you for everything."

Robbie smiled, "All part of the service," he said, gathering his phone and wallet off the coffee table, "I'll let myself out," he added, Michael nodded and Robbie left.

After he was gone Michael looked over to where Nelson lay on the floor, looking up at him with sad eyes.

"Some guard dog you are," Michael said, reaching down to pat his head.

Nelson gave a pitiful whine.

"It's all right boy, there was nothing you could have done," Michael assured him, "I wasn't much help either," he added softly.

Nelson sat up and bumped his hand with his nose, "All right," Michael told him, "I'll stop blaming myself if you will."

Nelson rested his head on Michael's knee, "I know, I can't help it either," Michael said, absently patting Nelson's head.


	5. Does Daddy Even Know How To Ride A Horse

Someone else couldn't help blaming themselves either, in the darkness of their temporary prison Jackie sniffed trying to get a grip on her feelings as she tried to remain strong for her children. But it was hard when she felt so helpless.

If this had happened to her while she was still a cop it would have been bad enough, but now there were her children to consider and she didn't know how long she could protect them. A feeling no mother should ever have to experience.

Not to mention her head hurt like hell and all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but she was afraid that if she did that she might never wake up.

She looked up at where she assumed the ceiling was, blinking back her tears; she had never wanted to see Michael so much in her life.

"Mummy?"

Jackie hastily wiped away the remnants of any tears as she looked down at Nerys, "You should be sleeping, honey," Jackie admonished her gently.

Jackie felt her daughter reach out and squeeze her hand. "It's all right, Mummy," Nerys said, snuggling up closer to Jackie, "I miss Daddy too."

Jackie laughed quietly, "Daddy will come for us won't he?" Nerys asked in a small voice.

"Of course he will, sweetheart," Jackie assured her, "you just wait and see."

"On a white horse," came a sleepy voice from nearby.

Jackie turned to look at Katrina with an amused smile, "A white horse?" she repeated.

She felt Katrina nod as she snuggled up closer, "The hero always rides a white horse," she informed her mother through her yawn as she drifted back off to sleep.

Nerys giggled, "Does Daddy even know how to ride a horse?"


	6. Man's Best Friend

**A/N: This chapter's a little more light hearted than the others, just to give a bit of a break to the 'drama' :)**

"Jimmy, I have told you before about using that eyedropper," Michael admonished sleepily, rolling over to face the back of the couch.

The dripping continued.

"Jimmy," he began in a warning tone, opening his eyes and rolling over.

Only to come face to face with Nelson.

Michael recoiled sharply as he realised the dripping water that had woken him wasn't Jimmy with his infernal eyedropper but dog slobber. "Nelson!" he cried, sitting up and wiping the offending slime off his face. He was about to call out to ask whether anyone had bothered to feed the dog when he stopped short. Suddenly remembering that his family were missing and he was alone.

He looked back at Nelson with a sigh, "I guess it's just you and me," he said, standing up to go into the kitchen. Nelson followed him closely.

"You know at the rate your tail's going you're going to become airborne," Michael warned Nelson as he pulled out a bag of dog food. He stopped with the dog food preparation as the phone rang, much to Nelson's disgust.

"Robbie, do you have any news?" Michael asked hopefully, immediately he looked disappointed, "Well, it's still early I guess. No, I haven't heard anything else."

The conversation continued as, unbeknownst to Michael, Nelson jumped up and, placing his front paws on the bench, started to inch the dog food bag closer to the edge. Keeping an eye on Michael as he did so.

"Well, thanks for calling anyway," Michael said, still on the phone and turning to face into the room. "Nelson!" he yelled, frightening both the dog and Robbie who was still on the other end of the line. "Sorry," Michael said into the receiver as he watched Nelson guiltily let go of his prize and drop to the floor. Before affecting his best 'who me?' look.

"Don't even try it buster," Michael told him, "not you, the dog," Michael explained into the phone, "it's not that funny, Robbie, he just tried to steal his food while my back was turned. How would you like to laugh all the way to a disciplinary hearing?" Michael asked, a small smile curved his mouth, "No Robbie, that one was for you, not the dog," he said sweetly. "All right, I'll speak to you later," Michael said before he hung up to the phone.

He turned back to look at Nelson who was now giving him his best hangdog look, "That's not going to work either," Michael informed him. "You're lucky I'm still going to feed you," Michael told him as he poured some food into Nelson's bowl.

"Completely guided by your stomach," Michael said, shaking his head as he watched Nelson inhale*his food.

----

* **A/N: if you've ever seen a Labrador eat you'll know what I mean**


	7. That's Almost Embarrassing

Robbie sighed and rubbed his eyes, this case was really starting to take it out of him. Jackie was a good friend and he'd do anything for her, whereas those kids...he shook his head. He'd never forgive himself in anything happened to any of them.

Which was shaping up to be harder to prevent than he had hoped since Michael refused (and quite rightly Robbie had to agree) to meet any of Culpepper's demands. The problem was that this required Robbie and Stuart to find him before the deadline Culpepper had given them.

Easier said than done.

He looked over to where Stuart sat, the younger man had been working almost nonstop since they had gone missing and had taken to drinking copious amounts of caffeine. Robbie wondered how he managed to function without bouncing off the walls.

"Have the uniforms turned up anything?" Robbie asked, breaking the silence and startling Stuart.

"No, nothing as yet," Stuart replied, mopping up the coffee he'd spilt in his fright.

"What about crime scene?" Robbie continued, leaning back in his chair to stretch out his tired muscles.

"Nothing," Stuart said regretfully, looking through the report again, "all they were able to do was confirm the blood on the carpet as Jackie's."

Robbie closed his eyes against the memory of the photo of Jackie that Culpepper had sent with his letter. Seeing Jackie with dried blood across her forehead had not been an experience he would not care to repeat, he could only imagine what Michael must be feeling.

Robbie glanced at the pictures that Nerys and Katrina had made for him when he and Stuart had minded them when Ebony was born. Whatever it took he was determined to find them.

He jumped when the phone rang; shaking his head at his reaction he picked up the phone. He wasn't surprised to find Michael on the other end, what did surprise him was the excitement in the other man's tone.

"He _what_?" Robbie exclaimed, causing Stuart to look up in confusion, "How on earth did he manage to do that when we had no success? That's almost embarrassing," Robbie continued. He listened for a moment before nodding, "Don't you worry, we'll be right over with more back up than you can poke a stick at," Robbie assured him.

As he hung up Robbie looked at Stuart with a grin, "It would seem that our old friend Nelson has succeeded where the sniffer dogs failed," he told him, "Nelson managed to sniff them out."

Stuart grinned as well, "You're right, that almost is embarrassing," he said as he grabbed him coat and followed Robbie out of the room.


	8. Nelson The Wonder Dog

"If you're right and they're in there, I take back every time I ever called you a stupid dog," Michael whispered to Nelson as they stood at the arranged meeting point, waiting for Robbie.

Nelson looked up at him, "Don't worry, I didn't call you stupid that often," Michael assured him, before looking up with a smile as the police convoy came into view.

"Let's just hope this mutt of yours is right," Robbie said, coming over to join Michael and Nelson. Nelson gave a low growl and Michael snickered as Robbie apologised to Nelson.

"Is everything ready for us to go in?" Michael asked.

"What's this 'us' business?" Robbie asked, "I thought you weren't involved in this," Michael gave him a dark look.

"That is my family in there Robbie, I'm not standing to the sidelines any longer, I am _going_ in there," Michael told him firmly, with just a hint of menace in his voice.

Robbie bit back a chuckle, "Relax, I was only joking; I fully intended to have you in there."

Michael gave him a disbelieving look as they made their way over to where the others were getting ready to storm the place and to listen to the very detailed plan of action.

In the end the raid all went like clockwork, Culpepper was taken completely by surprise, apparently he hadn't taken into account the unshakeable loyalty that Nelson possessed for his mistress.

It was this selfsame blind loyalty that meant Nelson managed to escape from the police van and enter the building, leading the police straight to where Jackie and the children were being held.

"Hello?" Michael called into the darkened room once they had managed to open the door.

"Daddy?" came Jimmy's voice.

"It's me, Jimmy," Michael said, his voice almost breaking with relief, "it's all right now."

Slowly Jimmy walked into the light, cradling Ebony and flanked by Nerys and Katrina. "DADDY!" Katrina cried, breaking away from the small group and leaping into her father's waiting arms. Nerys and Jimmy soon followed suit, Michael got down to his knees, hugging them all to him.

"Where's your mother?" he asked after a moment, Nerys' face crumpled and Katrina started to cry. Jimmy was about to reply when a low whine came from the back of the room.

Carefully disentangling himself from his children Michael followed Nelson's whine to find the Labrador nudging the prone form of Jackie with his nose. Without thinking Michael rushed to her side, dropping to his knees to check for a pulse. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he found one.

"She was hit on the head when they came for us," Jimmy said softly, materialising beside him, "then she started to have trouble keeping her eyes open." Michael looked up at the quaver in Jimmy's voice, "She will be all right, won't she Daddy?" Jimmy asked.

Michael hugged his son to him, "Of course she will be, Jimmy," he assured him, kissing him briefly on the top of his head before releasing him to gather Jackie in his arms.

"Come on, let's go," he said, getting his feet and leading the way out of the building.

----

**A/N: Hooray for Nelson! :D**


	9. Hold Me

Jackie groaned as she slowly began to regain consciousness. Gradually she became aware of the fact that she was lying in a bed, not on the hard floor, with this new awareness also came the feeling that someone was watching her.

She opened her eyes a fraction and groaned at the bright light, closing them once more, "Jackie?" came a soft voice to her right.

"Michael?" she breathed, hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be a dream.

She felt him take her hand, "It's me," he told her, "you gave me quite a scare, there was a moment where I thought you might never wake up."

Jackie smiled briefly before she remembered why she had sustained the head injury in the first place, "The children-" she began, opening her eyes and trying to sit up.

"Are with Robbie and Stuart, they're safe," he reassured her, gently easing her back down. "Well," he reconsidered, "as safe as they can be with those two in charge," he amended.

"I'm so sorry Michael," Jackie said, a lone tear making its way down her cheek, "I should never have let them take us. I-"

"Shh," Michael interrupted her again, gently wiping away the tear, "there's nothing more you could have done and certainly nothing that you should be sorry about. I'm the one who should be sorry, I've tried so hard to keep my work and our family separate and I failed in that, dismally."

"It wasn't your fault," Jackie told him, turning her head slightly to look at him.

"I'm just so glad you're all safe," Michael said, unconsciously tightening his hold on her hand.

"Did you get him?" she asked.

Michael nodded, "Yes we did, without having to give into any of his demands," he told her, he played with her hand in both of his for a few moments, unable to meet her eyes. "I want you to know that as a husband and a father I wanted nothing more than to give into those demands," he looked her in eye, "but as a policeman...it was impossible."

Jackie nodded, remembering some of the names of the criminals that he wanted released and some of his other requests. "You wouldn't be the man I love if you didn't stand by your principles," she told him, "I knew you'd find another way to save us."

Michael gave a short laugh at that, "Yes, well, that came from a _very_ unexpected source," he told her with a grin, "Nelson was the one who found you."

Jackie stared at him in disbelief, "Nelson," she said flatly.

Michael nodded, "Yep, I think you underestimate how attached he is to you and the children, he managed to pick out your scent," he shook his head at the memory, "almost dragged me right across town, but I was so lost in my own thoughts I barely noticed at the time."

"I hope this means you'll stop calling him stupid," Jackie said.

"Of course I will," Jackie raised an eyebrow, "well, except on very special occasions," Michael amended, making Jackie laugh softly.

"I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to protect the children," Jackie said quietly after a moment, "I missed you so much," she told him, tears shining in her eyes.

Carefully Michael climbed up onto the bed next to her and took her in his arms, "It's all right now, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," he promised her.

"Hold me closer Michael," she whispered and Michael tightened his hold on her, kissing her lightly on the forehead as he did so.

"I love you Jackie," he whispered.

"I love you too," she answered, breathing in his familiar scent and feeling her fear, finally, dissipate.

----

**A/N: Yeah, so I couldn't really think of any good demands which is why they're only vaguely hinted at...sorry about that. And I think Jackie would know Michael would stand by his principles (even if he didn't want to) and forgive him - mostly because they are still all in one piece...**


	10. Epilogue

**A/N: I decided I couldn't leave it where I left off in the last chapter. It just didn't feel quite finished yet...**

**_Epilogue:_**

"You are such a good doggie, yes you are," Nerys cooed, hanging on Nelson's neck, "our little doggie hero," she added.

"Nerys, you know that it was really Dad who saved us, don't you?" Jimmy asked.

"Of course I do, but Nelson helped," she told him, before turning back to the dog in her arms, "you did, didn't you boy," she said, planting a kiss on the top of his head.

"Dad would have found us with or without Nelson's help," Jimmy continued staunchly.

"I _know_ that James Alexander Jardine," Nerys shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well, Nerys Aurelia Jardine, maybe you should try thanking _him_ instead of the stupid dog," Jimmy shot back.

Nerys looked horrified and covered Nelson's ears with her hands, "You take that back!" she hissed.

"What?"

"You heard me, apologise to Nelson!" she demanded.

"I'm not going to apologise to the dog, _Dad_ saved us along with Uncle Robbie and Uncle Stuart and that's all there is to it," he insisted.

Whatever reply Nerys was going to give was cut short by Katrina, "Besides, Nelson's not white or a horse, _everyone_ knows that the hero always has a white horse," she informed her older siblings.

Jimmy rolled his eyes; younger sisters really were a nuisance.


End file.
